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Zoo Basel

August 22, 2013

Zoo Basel welcomed the newest and youngest addition to their Somali Wild Ass herd, Kali. Kali was born on July 3 in the late hours of the night.
Kali has been spending a lot of time with his mother, Yogala. His birth is crucial to his species— there are just about 220 Somali Wild Asses living
in zoos worldwide. The species is critically endangered and is one of the rarest mammals on the planet. Only a few hundred Somali Wild Ass remain in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia.

Zoo Basel has been home to Somali Wild Asses since 1970, with their first birth in 1972. The species is part of a European Endangered Species Program, which helps
to maintain zoo populations and ensure the survival of the species. The program is organized by the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums and is coordinated
by Zoo Basel.

July 19, 2013

On July 17, a Hippopotamus was born at Zoo Basel in Switzerland. The little one was born in the ditch of the outdoor enclosure, and mother Helvetia, 22 years old, immediately nudged it towards the bank with her nose, where it was able to rest. It has not yet been given a name, as it is still unclear whether the baby is male or female.

At the beginning of the day on Wednesday, the animal keeper suspected that the time for the birth was near. Helvetia was restless, but still headed to the outdoor enclosure to feed. Shortly after 9 a.m., a tiny head suddenly emerged from the water. The father, 23-year-old Wilhelm, made constant attempts to take a peek at the little one, but Helvetia was having none of it: if he came too close, she would shoo him away with an unambiguous clip round the head. Experience has shown that this will abate over time, and in a few weeks, visitors will be able to see the whole family bathing together.

Photo credits: Zoo Basel

The little one has to dive underwater in order to drink from its mother, resurfacing every 30 seconds to take a breath. The baby weighs between 65 and 110 pounds (30 and 50 kilograms) and is currently feeding solely on its mother’s milk, and will only begin to eat solid food in a few weeks’ time. As is common for the vast animals that are Hippopotamuses, the pregnancy was scarcely visible. However, shortly before the birth the mother’s udders began to swell, and Helvetia and Wilhelm started to keep their distance from each other. The little one is Wilhelm and Helvetia’s tenth child. Older brother Habari, now three-years-old, has been living in Pont-Scorff, France, since June 2012.

June 29, 2013

Two baby Oriental Small-clawed Otters born
in April at Switzerland's Zoo Basel are providing endless entertainment as they play with the
Rhinoceros family that shares their exhibit.

Photo Credit: Zoo Basel

The first time that one-year-old bull Rhinoceros
Jari came to the enclosure, the otters all ran along behind him and boldly
nipped his hind legs. Fortunately, Jari has very thick skin – and lucky for the
otters, Jari’s mother chose to chastise them by simply ignoring them and
walking off.

When the Otters aren’t pestering the
Rhinos, they are often followed around by
young wild Crows, who peck them from behind with their beaks. When the inter-species conflict subsides, the
adult Otters are teaching the two youngsters their Otter ABCs. The
first lesson: how to dive without drowning.

Zoo Basel’s Otter/Rhino enclosure is
specifically designed to meet the needs of these agile little rascals. Aside
from dens where they can produce their young, the exhibit is surrounded by a
shallow stream where the Otters search for food. Basking areas and the tree stump are also
popular, offering visitors a wonderful view of the animals.

Oriental Small-clawed Otters are one of the few
Otter species to live together in large extended families. They live in Asia
next to rivers and shallow waters, and feed primarily on smaller aquatic life, such as Snails and Mussels. Unlike other Otters, they do not hunt for fish in deep water, but
instead feel around in the watery sludge for food using their finger-like paws.
When they catch something, they first wash it before chowing down.

May 19, 2013

Miniature Pigs Jack and Jill, both five years old, became
parents to eight piglets on April 22 at Switzerland’s Zoo Basel. The eight youngsters (three boys and five
girls) are all black except for one which is pink with black spots.

Photo Credit: Zoo Basel

Jack and Jill are experienced parents, giving birth once or
twice a year. This litter of eight
piglets is a large one, so it’s pretty crowded when all eight want to nurse at
the same time. Keepers report that Jill’s
top row of teats is the most sought-after, and the piglets argue with each
other to see who gets the coveted spots.
The piglets are certainly getting enough to eat, because they’ve already
more than doubled their birth weight!

Miniature Pigs are small domestic Pigs, and are popular as
household pets.

May 18, 2013

Switzerland’s Zoo Basel welcomed a male porcupette
(baby Porcupine) on April 6. Porcupettes
are born with soft, flexible spines, which harden after a few days. The new baby lives with seven other
Porcupines in the zoo’s exhibit.

Photo Credit: Zoo Basel

Zoo Basel’s Porcupines are clicker-trained,
which allows zoo keepers to better monitor the health and well-being of these
nocturnal animals, who would rather hide than interact with keepers. The Porcupines have learned that a click
means they’ll receive a tasty bite of food, so they eagerly emerge from their
hiding places.

Porcupines are forest-dwelling rodents that
feed on tubers, bark, roots and vegetables.

February 16, 2013

The Ostrich herd at Switzerland’s Zoo Basel
has grown significantly with the hatching of ten chicks since December 20 to
mother Manyara, age 21, and father Baringo, age 20. Manyara and Baringo shared
the job of incubating their eggs, with the male taking the night shift and the
female brooding during the day. Their
efficient system has been perfected over years of practice: Manyara and Baringo have produced more than
110 chicks since 2000. All the chicks
were brooded and hatched naturally, with no incubators or human assistance.

Photo Credits: Zoo Basel

Ostrich chicks are precocial birds, beginning
to gather their own food as soon as they hatch. Because food is scarce on the
African savannah, wild Ostriches will eat whenever food is available. In captivity, Ostriches will do the same, and
have a tendency to become obese. As a result, it’s important for the zoo staff to
carefully monitor the chicks‘ food intake.

Obesity or overly rapid growth can have a
negative impact on bone development in young Ostriches. Therefore, feed
quantities for the baby Ostriches are tailored to the age and
number of animals. Care is also taken to ensure that the feed has the ideal
ingredients. For example, calcium – a mineral important for bone growth – is given
to the animals via greens, shell limestone, and a special mixture of vitamins
and minerals. The chicks are also weighed
regularly to monitor their healthy growth and development.

January 05, 2013

The
rarest animal at Zoo Basel has given birth:
a Somali Wild Ass foal was born on December 27. Named
Jana, this female youngster is “extraordinarily lively,” according to her
keepers.

Among
Jana’s favorite activities is frolicking with other members of the zoo’s
Wild Ass herd. Her mother, Tana, doesn’t
tolerate this precocious behavior from her daughter and immediately
intervenes. Jana is also very interested
in the ponies, penguins and ducks that live near her enclosure. She has been observed walking slowly toward a
resting duck, then dashing back to her mother’s side when the duck makes a
sudden move!

Photo Credit: Zoo Basel

Jana
is treasured at Zoo Basel not only for her endearing personality: She is one of only about 200 Wild Asses
living in zoos worldwide. In the wild, less
than 1,000 Wild Asses remain in parts of Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia. They
are considered critically endangered – just one step above extinction. Zoo Basel is a leader in breeding these rare animals.

September 13, 2012

This past Monday, Zoo Basel welcomed the arrival of a baby Indian Rhino. The birth was so quick, keepers named the baby Jarj (Nepalese for "instantly"). The calf was strong and vivacious from the start and immediately stood up to begin drinking his mother's milk.

This endangered species is threatened in the wild by poaching, and Zoo Basel coordinates the European Endangered Species Program (EEP) for Indian Rhinos. Jarj is the third calf for mother Quetta and the 33rd Indian Rhino to be born at Zoo Basel.

April 12, 2012

Spring is in the air at Zoo Basel and so are the baby Goats, literally! These playful Goat kids are delighting zoo visitors with their acrobatic leaps and bounds by day. Baby goats are always a popular attraction as the weather warms at Switzerland's oldest and biggest zoo.

March 17, 2012

The arrival of new baby Golden Lion Tamarins on February 14th has brought particular joy to Zoo Basel. Castor (17) and Lilian (5) have become an experienced breeding pair with their second delivery of twins. Last year, they made the headlines with Basel Zoo’s first golden lion tamarin birth in twenty years. This year’s two baby Monkeys are full of energy and doing very well.

The zoo has had to wait a long time for these happy events, as the last opportunity to marvel at young golden lion tamarins in Basel was twenty years ago. The first pairing between Castor, from Sweden, and Lilian, imported from Holland, took place following an approach phase of just under two years in exile whilst the monkey house was being renovated. Apparently they now feel equally at home in the re-opened monkey house, demonstrated by the arrival of their two offspring on 14th February this year. Twin births are common in Tamarin and Marmoset pairings, and are standard for Golden Lion Tamarins.

Photo credit: Zoo Basel

Golden Lion Tamarins live in family groups of up to ten. In Brazil’s Atlantic rainforest, their area of origin, a family will claim a territory covering an area at least four times the size of Basel Zoo. What is particularly fascinating about these monkeys is the way in which social frameworks vary greatly from family to family. The most common framework is a pairing for life (monogamy), followed by a female with multiple male mates (polyandry) and a male with multiple female mates (polygyny). All members of the group are needed to successfully rear young. For example, the father offers energetic help in carrying the young monkeys around on his back.